very top and so stepped upon the Post. She took her seat in an
arm-chair like the one on the other Post, and Sara noticed that her
kerchief was exactly the size of one of Mother's hemstitched sheets.
She was indeed a handsome, venerable and distinguished-looking old
lady, if you stood far enough away to see her all at once.

"Well, Sara, should you like to see the cousins?" asked Pirlaps, when
this interesting manoeuvre had been completed and the other
Grandmothers began to disperse. "We'll be just about in time for the
drill."

"Yes, indeed," cried Sara, who was very fond of watching drills. So
Pirlaps led her to a level place which he told her was the cousins'
drill-ground. It was hard and smooth, and marked off with lines like a
tennis-court, only much more intricately. And there were numbers of
cousins standing about, each one looking very erect and alert, with
his hand on the back of a chair. Just as Sara came up, the captain of
the cousins stepped out in front and called, "Attention!"

The cousins looked so attentive it was almost painful.

Then he called out, "First Cousin once removed!" and the First Cousin
marched out very stiffly and set his chair down accurately on the
first mark, after which he sat down in it with military precision.
Then the captain called, "Second Cousin once removed!" and the Second
Cousin marched out and sat down in the right place quite as
impressively.

Well, you can imagine how it went on, as far as Tenth Cousin eighth
removed; and after they had gone through it straight the captain began